Guard for bicycle-tires



(No Model.)

J. S. DOUGHTY 8v E. Z. COLLINGS. GUARD FOR BICYCLE TIRES.

No. 588,221. Patented Aug. 17, 1897.

VVl itnesses. Inventor Attorney.

NIOTED STATES PATENT OFFRE.

JOHN S. DOUGHTY, OF HADDONFIELD, AND EDWARD Z. COLLINGS, OF LAURELSPRINGS, NEW JERSEY.

G UARD FOR BICYCLE-TIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,221, dated August17'-, 1897.

` Application fied tammy 28,1897. seria1N0.e21,o22. or@ model.)

Vbicycle-tires; and it consists of certain improvements, all of whichare fullyiset forth in the following specilication and shown in theaccompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

.The object of our invention is to provide a suitable guard forbicycle-tires which shall prevent the ready puncturing of the pneumatictube thereof by interposi'ng between the inner pneumatic tube and outercover of rub- 'ber a guard of tough material having'Y great softness andflexibility and attachedin a suitable manner in positionand preferablyto the inner surface of the outer tube.

By practical use we have found that when two strips of goatskin or itsequivalent, such as 'deerskin, be interposed between the inner and outertubes of a pneumatic bicycle-tire the resistance to puncturing is mostsatisfactory; The result` of these tests show that when a sharp tack isforcibly ldriven through the outer rubber tube or shoe and into thefirst layer or strip of goatskin the action of the point upon the secondstrip is to press it into the soft pneumatic tube, which in turn becomesdepressed under the action, Vand`no actual penetration results. Thisisdue to the fact that goatskin is exceedingly tough as to penetrationand, secondly, is sc soft and pliable that it readily bends and sinks inunder the pressure'of the point, pushing before it the soft rubber ofthe inner tube. Ordinarily the tack'cannot penetrate the rst layer orstrip of 'goatskin because of its density and toughness, and thepenetration of the pneumatic tube is fully guarded against by the use ofthesecondstrip, as aforesaid.

More particularly ourl invention comprehends in its preferred form acompound strip or band constituting the guard and composed, essentially,of one or more long fiat stripsof tough, soft, and iieXiblematerial-'such as goatskin, kid, or deerskin-,having its sections unitedby skived joints, to which is secured textile material transversestrips, such as woven fabric or felt, and arranged in a manner that itprojects or extends beyond the lateral edges of one or both of the'strips of tough material to form soft attaching eXtensions or parts bywhich the guard may be secured at intervals by cement to the tire.

In practice We prefer to employ two layers of tough material, one ofwhich is wider than the other to prevent a ridge, combined withinterposed transverse strips or layers of textile material. The guardformed in this manner is bent into a circle and the ends united by meansof a button of rubber and iitted within the under side of the outertube, as aforesaid. v

Our invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in whichwj f Figure l is a plan View of our improvedtire-guard. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional elevation of the but-- toned ends. Fig. t' isa cross-section through a tire, showing method of attaching our improvedguard. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the guard on line 0o :tof Fig. 1.Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modification of our improved guard. Fig. 7 isa perspective View of another modification of our invention, and Fig. 8is a cross-section of another modified form of our improved guard.

A and B are two long strips of tough material having a soft and flexiblecharacter, which is best answered by goatskin. Kid or deer skin may beemployed in lieu of goatskin.

As it is impossible to obtain strips sufficiently long in one integralpiece to go all the Way around the tire, we make upa strip of shortsections by skiving their edges, vas at C, and uniting themby cement orby sewing, as at WV, the jointbeing of the same thickness vandresistance as at all other parts, so as not to form ridges. y We preferalso that the skived joints in the two superimposed strips shall notcome above each other to enable the elasticity to be maintained moreuniform. These two strips A and B are so ICO.`

superimposed that the ends of one preferably the tire.

at D and E. Interposcd between these two strips at intervals aretransverse strips or pieces of textile fabric F, which are of shorterlength and greater width than the strips A and B, so that the lateraledge or edges thereof shall project orextend beyond the side edges ofthe strips A and B, as indicated at F and F. These strips or pieces oftextile fabric or material are cemented or otherwise secured at c to oneor both strips A B, so that the two strips A B and transverse fabricstrips or pieces shall be firmly yet fiexibly secured together.

It is preferable that the fabric strips or pieces F be formed on thebias to enable them to fit better to the double curvature of This isespecially important when the strips are made of great area or Width inthe length of the strips A B. .By employing a pliable rubber cement theparts may be perfectly secured or attached together without interferingwith the softness and flexibility of the guard.

In view of the fact that the guard is to be bent intoaloop orcircle itisdesirable, though not essential, that the inner strip B shall beslightly shorter than the outer layer, which may be secured in themaking of the guard by excessively stretching the strip A when cementingthe parts. By taking this precaution the smaller diameter of the innerlayer or strip B will not cause the guard to crease or crinkle. Teprefer to form the outer strip A of greater width than the inner stripB, as shown, so that when bent into the curved position, Fig. 4, thelateral edges will not form so abrupt a shoulder as would occur if thewidth of said strips AandB were of the same width. This also securesbetter economj7 in the cost of manufacture, since it takes less leather.

If desired, the pieces of fabric F may only be cemented to the innerstrip B intermediate of its ends, because when the lateral edges F arecemented to the inner surface of the outer tubes G at f, Fig. et, theyconfine between such points the outer strip A and hold it in position.

The dotted circle H in Fig. 4 represents the inner or pneumatic tube ot'the tire and that for which the protection against puncturin g isrequired.

It is further evident that the strip B may be dispensed with, ifpreferred, to reduce the thickness where less liability to puncturingexists, in which case the pieces F will be attached only to the strip Aat one or more places, and if carefully applied the strip A may beattached in place by the textile strip while securing the latter to theinside of the outer tube, as at j', without the necessity of cementingthe parts F and A together at all. For commercial purposes, however, itwill be found most expedient to unite these parts before being appliedto the tire. By using only a small amount of cement and at intervals thebest results will be secured.

Then the guard is bent into a loop or circle,

the ends D and E are lapped and buttoned together, as shown at S T inFig. 3. \Ve prefer to use a rubber button S, which we cement upon theface of the end E of strip B and form the ,buttonhole T in the end D ofstrip A, as the rubber button is softand Iiexible and does notobjectionably increase the thickness. It enables the guard to be easilyapplied and fitted to the tire. By cutting off more or less of the endsD E the diameter of the finished guard may be varied to make a good fitwithin the tire.

In place of using a strip F of textile fabric or material, as shown inFigs. l and 2, we may provide the outer strip A with lateral projectionsF2 for attachment to the tire, as in Fig. (i. The lateral free edges F2are adapted to be cemented to the outer tube, as above described, andmay be upon the strip A. The manner of applying the textile material F(shown in Figs. l and 2) may be equally applicable whether the strips Aand B both be used or only one employed.

In Fig. '7 we have shown a single strip A with textile-fabric strips Fcemented to it, and said strips projecting beyond either edge, ifdesired.

XVe do not confine ourselves to any particular textile fabric ormaterial, as it may be woven or felted, but it should be soft andpliable.

If desired, the textile-fabric parts F may extend all the way across thestrip A and project at either side, as shown in Fig. l at F', or in Fig.7, or the several strips may project alternately from opposite sideedges, as indicated in Fig. l.

It is evident that the strip B may be of greater width than strip A, ifso desired, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, but pref'- erably itis of less Width, as hereinbefore explained.

Thile the textile fabric is most advantageous as a means for attachingthe goatskin strips to the outer tube, it is to be understood that saidfabric may be dispensed with and the goatskin strip attached by flexiblecement directly to the outer tube of the tire.

In place of interposing the pieces of flexible fabric F between thestrips A and B they may be secured to the outside thereof, as shown inFig. 8.

By employing a soft goatskin as the strip or strips of tough materialgreat pliability is secured, together with resisting qualities topuncturing. By employing such material or its equivalent the strips maybe of uniform thickness, and hence have flexibility and thus avoid inany way interfering with the constantly-changing shape of the tire inuse due to its flattening at the tread.

Having now described our invention,what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. As a new article of manufacture a nonpuncturable guard for abicycle-tire eonsisting of two superimposed continuous strips of ICO IIO

y soft pliable leather of uniform thickness such as goatskineach of alength corresponding to the circumference of the tire and fastenedtogether the outer of Which strips is considerably Wider than the innerstrip whereby it overlaps the side edges of the latter when in operativeposition, in combination With short transverselyarranged retainingfabric attaching portions secured to the leather strips and part ofWhich extend laterally to one side and part to the other side beyond thelate ral edges of the leather strips for cementing to the inner surfaceof the outer tube or shoe of the tire,whereby the guard is attached atintervals only throughout the circumference of the tire.

2. As anew article of manufacture a nonpuncturable guard for abicycle-tire consisting ofV the combination of tWo long continuunto setour hands.

JOHN S. DOUGI-ITY.

E. Z. COLLINGS.

Witnesses:

R. M. HUNTER,

J. W. 'KENWoR'rHr

